Making Money

After slipping inside, the shadow immediately found a hidden corner and concealed himself.

Then he poked his head out to observe and discovered that no one in the courtyard could still stand.

"Perfect opportunity."

Chen Xun felt a surge of delight.

That shadow was none other than Chen Xun.

He slowly approached the wine table, the scent of alcohol growing ever thicker around him.

When he reached the first drunkard, Chen Xun stared at him, drew a deep breath, then clenched his right hand into a fist, raised his middle knuckle, and drove all the strength in his body into a punch at the drunkard's temple.

With a crack, the man's body convulsed violently before turning into a corpse.

"Hah... Killing someone isn't that hard, is it?"

Chen Xun inwardly marveled, then followed the same pattern and killed them one by one.

By the time only the last one remained—the leader of these men, that burly fellow—

the man suddenly opened his eyes.

Chen Xun jumped in fright, his body freezing stiff on the spot.

Then, right before Chen Xun's eyes, the man drunkenly staggered over to the corner, took off his pants, and relieved himself.

Chen Xun immediately breathed a sigh of relief.

Once the man had finished relieving himself and his mind had cleared somewhat, he suddenly felt a chill.

"Why does it suddenly feel a little cold?"

The instant he turned around, a flash of blade light appeared.

The burly man's eyes widened as he looked at the man holding the knife before him. He seemed to want to say something, but in the end, not a word came out. Clutching his throat, he collapsed to the ground.

Before long, blood had flowed all over the floor, and the burly man had become a corpse as well.

At this point, every Gale Gang member in the courtyard had been slain by Chen Xun.

Having finished all this, Chen Xun did not waste any time and hurriedly began searching for valuables.

This was the greatest reason he had followed them here.

Practicing martial arts cost a great deal of money. Especially after condensing Blood Qi, one needed to buy all manner of medicinal tonics to increase the amount of Blood Qi.

The moment Chen Xun saw these men carrying a bag of money, the thought of robbery had taken root in his mind.

"Since it's ill-gotten wealth gathered through extortion, let me rob the rich and aid the poor."

Naturally, the poor man in need of aid was Chen Xun, whose pockets were empty.

Chen Xun first searched the corpses thoroughly, but only found a few hundred copper coins.

"A bunch of poor ghosts."

Clicking his tongue in disdain, Chen Xun pushed open the door and entered the house, beginning his search inside.

Very quickly, he spotted a wooden box in an obvious spot. Opening it, he found several silver ingots inside.

"Not bad. Now this is more like it."

Chen Xun nodded in satisfaction.

This silver was the protection money the Gale Gang collected in Bamboo-Wood Ward.

They collected it once a month, and the amount charged to each household varied. Those with money paid more, while those without paid less; it was all about drawing water in a thin, steady stream.

The copper coins they collected would be exchanged for silver ingots like these, then handed over to the gang.

Chen Xun had asked around. Whenever these men collected money, they would not hand it over immediately, but would instead take a portion to buy wine and meat.

The Gale Gang naturally knew about this, yet had never pursued the matter. Instead, they turned a blind eye.

After counting the silver in the wooden box, he found there were a full thirty-six taels.

"Ha ha, I've struck it rich." Chen Xun could not help rubbing his hands together. He directly took the silver, leaving the wooden box behind.

After taking the silver, Chen Xun did not leave at once. He continued circling the room, searching and plundering.

In the end, he pried up a loose floor tile and pulled out another wooden box from underneath.

Upon opening it, he found it filled with broken silver. Apart from that, there was also a porcelain bottle with a piece of red paper pasted onto it.

Three characters were written on the red paper. Chen Xun scratched his head, unable to recognize a single one.

In this life, he was the son of a farmer. How could he have learned to read and write?

He opened the porcelain bottle and poured out a little red powder. Chen Xun sniffed it, his face thoughtful. "This smell seems familiar!"

"I remember now. Isn't this the smell of Blood-Strengthening Soup?"

Only, the scent of this red powder was much stronger and more pungent.

"Could it be that the so-called Blood-Strengthening Soup has this red powder added to it?"

The more Chen Xun thought about it, the more likely it seemed.

He poured the powder back into the bottle and carefully stored it in his Inventory.

Then he flicked his hand, producing out of thin air a money pouch more than half full of copper coins. He poured all the broken silver from the wooden box into it, then tossed it into his Inventory as well.

Of Chen Xun's three Inventory slots, two held equipment. After removing the stone lock from the remaining one, he could use it as storage space.

With that, Chen Xun clapped his hands and climbed over the wall, leaving with empty hands.

Not long afterward, Chen Xun returned to the entrance of the home he rented.

"Qingqing, open the door. It's me."

"Brother, you're back."

With a delighted cry, the gate opened, and Chen Qingqing poked out her smiling little head.

"Brother, why are you back so late today? Are you hungry? I saved some food for you."

The two chatted as they entered the house.

"I am a little hungry."

Chen Xun rubbed his stomach. The food he had eaten several hours ago had already mostly digested.

"There was something going on at Li Estate today, so I got back late."

"Oh, then I'll go heat up your food."

Very soon, a large bowl of yellowish millet rice and a small dish of pickled vegetables were brought to the table.

Though the meal was simple, Chen Xun ate with great enjoyment.

Chen Qingqing sat beside him with her chin propped on her hand, her large eyes watching Chen Xun eat as she chattered endlessly about trivial matters.

When she mentioned what had happened that evening, Chen Qingqing was still deeply shaken.

Chen Xun's chopsticks paused involuntarily, then he resumed eating as though nothing had happened.

Before going to sleep, Chen Xun took out one hundred copper coins and handed them to Chen Qingqing.

"This is the reward money the estate gave me. Keep it. If there's anything you want, don't be reluctant to spend money."

"Brother, what about you?"

"I still have some here. It's enough."

As he spoke, Chen Xun took out another handful of copper coins, putting Chen Qingqing at ease.

That night, Chen Xun continued diligently practicing the Stake Stance. His perception of the Blood Qi within his body became increasingly clear.

Even without checking the progress panel, he sensed that gaining control over his Blood Qi would happen within the next few days.

The next day, when Chen Xun left home, he specifically went to see Sister Ye next door. He repaid the money and paid her for taking care of Chen Qingqing next month.

"You gave too much."

Looking at the broken silver in her hand, Sister Ye hurriedly called out.

"Please use the extra to buy Qingqing more meat to eat, Sister Ye."

Chen Xun replied.

On the road, Chen Xun passed the little courtyard he had visited the night before. People came and went at its entrance, yet no one knew that corpses already lay scattered all over inside.

Chen Xun did not pause for even a moment, nor did his gaze linger. He quickly walked away.

After returning to Li Estate, Chen Xun ate until he was completely full at the Martial Artist cafeteria, then arrived early at the Small Martial Arena to begin that day's training.

Before long, people gradually arrived. Seeing Chen Xun training so diligently, his clothes already soaked through with sweat, they instinctively lowered their voices, then followed suit by assuming their stances and practicing the Stake Stance.

184, 185, 186...

Watching the progress on his [Primordial Stance Technique] panel continually rise, Chen Xun was filled with motivation.

He practiced the dull and painful Stake Stance again and again, yet found it as sweet as honey.

No one else persisted as long as he did. From time to time, they would stop to rest awhile.

"Hmph, keep training, keep training. Without enough resources, the harder you work, the faster your body will break down."

Watching the hard-working Chen Xun, Li Peng sneered inwardly.

He had made inquiries. Chen Xun had never bought Blood-Strengthening Soup even once.

And according to some inside information Li Peng knew, practicing martial arts was not something one could achieve merely through hard work and talent.

"You poor, sour-legged peasant. I'll wait for the day your body collapses."

Li Peng eagerly anticipated that day's arrival.

At noon, in the Martial Artist cafeteria, Chen Xun was stuffing food into his mouth when his movements suddenly paused. Then he continued eating as though nothing had happened.

"Did you hear? A bloody case happened in Bamboo-Wood Ward. A group of Gale Gang members were killed in their home."

"I hadn't heard about that. When did it happen?"

"Last night."

"Do they know who did it?"

"How could they know that fast? You know how efficient the authorities are. I heard the case has been classified as a martial world vendetta. The initial judgment is that the killer was a Martial Artist at the First Blood-Qi Transformation."

Chen Xun listened to the conversation of the Martial Artists at the neighboring table, his expression showing no abnormality.

Those Martial Artists probably would never have imagined, even if beaten to death, that the murderer was sitting right among them.